Phonographic attachment for motion-picture machines.



G. HAMMETT. I PHONOGBAPH'IG ATTACHMENT FOR MOTION PICTURE MAGHINES.

' APPLICATION FILED NOV.14, 1908.

926,940. Patented July 6, 1909.

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G. HAMMETT. PHONOGRAPHIG ATTACHMENT FOR MOTION PICTURE MAcHINBs..

Patented July 6, 1909.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14, 1908.

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PHONOGRAPHIG ATTACHMENT FOR MOTION-PICTURE MACHINES;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 6, 1909.

Application filed November 14, 1908. Serial No. 462,648.-

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE HAMMETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Butte, in the county of Silverbow and State of Montana, have invented a new and useful Phonogra hic Attachment for Motion-Picture MitG11I1BS, 0f which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in phonographic attachments for mev tion picture machines, and its object is to of the motion picture mac provide a phonographic attachment for producing speech, music or other sound to accompany and make morerealistic the motion pictures.

In the following description the term phonograph or hono'graphic is used in the roader sense, ein mtended to designate the re roduction 0 ./sound from a record thereo and notany particular type of reproducing machine.

The invention is designed to utilize either the disk type of reproducing machine or the cylinder type as may be desired.

The present invention supplies the lack of realism present in silent motion picture machines by providing a means whereby approriate sounds may be produced in roper reation to the screen u on which t e motion pictures are projecte which sound should e in absolute or practically absolute synchronism with the a arent' movement of the motion ictures. The illusion is of course lost if t ere is any lack of coincidence between the reproduced sounds and the motions apparently taking place upon the screen.

By the present invention the synchronize ing of the motion picture machine and the sound reproducing machine is insured and both the motion picture machine and the sound reproducing machine are under the control of the operator of the said motion picture machine, and since the operating mechanism of the'motion picture machine and arts coacting therewith are markedly heavier than the sound re reducing machine and the parts actuating t e same, it follows that the control of the sound reproducing machine is very. sensitive fiirii-the movements The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detail description taken connection with the accom anying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which drawings,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal and partially schematic section through an exhibition hall for motion pictures showing the relative arrangement of the motion picture machine and the sound reproducing machine and the connecting parts. Fig. 2 is a side elevation partially in section of thesound reproducing member, on alargerscale than show'riinFig. 1.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Fig. 1 there is shown a motion picture machine at 1 for projecting views upon a screen 2 from the usual film, the operating means being shown in the drawings as a crank 3 used to drive a -suitable mechanism for carrying the ictures upon the film in succession past the cam of light thrown on the screen 2, all in the usual manner. The crank 3 is fast to a gear wheel 4, the shaft of which is assumed to be connected to the film actuating mechanism, inclosedin a suitable casing 5, but since it forms no part of the present invention and is of any approved type, such film actuating mechanism is not shown in the drawings.

The gear wheel 4 is in mesh with a pinion 5 upon a shaft carrying a double gear wheel 6 and the said gear wheel 6 is in mesh with a suitable gear wheel upon the armature shaft I of a dynamo or other suitable electric. generator 7. Since this generator need develop but a comparatively small current it may be of small size and may be readily driven by the operator in the act of actuating the film to project the motion pictures upon the screen 2.

Adjacent to and preferably behind the 'screen'2 is located a sound reproducing machine 8, illustrated in the drawings as of the familiar taper arm t pe'using the disk style of sound record tab et. It is to be understood however that the cylinder ty e pf machine may be used as well as the isk type.

The driving mechanism for the sound re-" producing machine is best shown in Fig. 2. here is an upright shaft 9 fixed against movement except upon its longitudinal axis and at the upper end of the shaft there is made fast thereto a turntable 10 for the rea suitable sound box 13 at the end of the.

swin ing taper sound amplifying horn 14 which latter leads into {an amplifying horn I protection of certain of the driving mechanlsm from dust or other harm. The shaft 9 within the casing 16 carries a disk 17 with which there is in-engagement a friction drive wheel 18 mounted on a-shaft 19 having bearings in the casing 16 and in a pedestal 20 erected on a suitable sup ort. Within the casing 16 the shaft 19 is attened for a portion of its length and receives the friction disk 18 which latter has an axial passage similar in shape to the cross sectional shape of the shaft at the flattened portion 21 there of, so that the disk or wheel 18 is constrained to rotate with the shaft but is permitted to move longitudinally thereon. The friction wheel 18 is provided with a hub 22 having an annular groove therein, and this groove is entered by the free ends of a forked member 23 on one end of a rod 24 extending through the side of the casing 16. This rod is flattened for a portion of its length where it extends through the casing 16 so that while it may be moved longitudinally it cannot be rotated.

The outer end of the rod is screw threaded as indicated at 25 and receives a milled wheel 26 confined in'a suitable frame 27 so that the milled wheel may be rotated by hand to cause a longitudinal movement of the rod 24 without rotation of the latter. By this means the friction wheel 18 may be caused to move along the shaft 21 in a line radial to the axis of rotation of the shaft 9 so as to engage the disk 17 at a greater or less distance from its axis of rotation. By this means the speed of'rotation of the turntable 10 may be very accurately determined under a constant speed of the shaft 19.

Upon the shaft 19 there is secured a gear wheel 28 and this gear wheel is in mesh with another gear wheel 29 upon the armature shaft of a motor 30 the latter being connected by conductors '31 to the dynamo 7, the said conductors being carried in any convenlent manner from the motor 30'to the dynamo 7, preferably out of sight of the audience. In order to adjust the system the conductors 31 may include a suitable rheostat 32.

Now let it be assumed that the record tablet 11 is suitably marked so that the reciprocatin stylus may be placed accurately thereon. markin may be done in various known ways as y acing an indicating mark in the margin 0 the record tablet or a notch at the same place or increasing the depth of the initial portion of the record groove, the latterbeing a satisfacto er of throwing the reproducing v method of indicating the commencement 0 a record without d Stylus out o the record groove by a sudden starting of the tablet, it being advantageous for the record tablet to be brought to speed in the shortest possible time. Let it further be assumed that the circuit between the dynamo generator and the motor has been so adjusted that at a certain speed of the motor generator the motor will develop sufficient power to drive the reproducing machine at the proper speed, and let it be still further assumed that the relation between the driving wheel 18 and the disk 17 has been properly adjusted to establish the speed of rotation of the turntable 10 and record tablet thereon at a certain speed of the shaft 19.

Now the reproducing stylus is placed u on the commencement of the record ta let groove and the film in the projecting machine is roperly located. By applying power to t e crank 3 the motion picture film is actuated and the dynamo 7 is very quickly brought to speed. The motor 30 responds to the impulses sent over the conductors 31,.- and since the force necessary to drive the talking machine structure is but small, the said dstructure is very quickly brought to spee By the means provided it is an easy'matter to so adjust the two machines and the arts operated thereby that ractically absoutesynchronism is establis ed between the motion pictures thrown upon the screen 2 and the sounds emitted by the sound reproducing machine back of said screen and the illusion that the sounds are actually produced in the motion pictures themselves is very marked.

The necessity of coincidence between the emitted sounds and the projected pictures is of course apparent. Should the motion picture machine and the sound reproducin machine get out of step the illusion woulddw at once dispelled. i

For reasons which need not be entered into here the motion picture machines are propelled by hand and are directly under the control of the operator. The motion picture machines are'quite bulky and therefore possess considerable inertia. The sound reproducing machines may be made quite light, es ecially when driven b an electric motor w ich will respond quic y to any change in the current on the line. For this reason the propelling means for the motion picture film is coupled up to a dynamo generator which may be built to furnish the proper current to the conductors 31, and the motor 30 may be built to respond to such current. By this means the sound reproducing machine is made very sensitive to any variations in the s eed of actuation of the motion picture The motion picture machine being comparatively bulky will not readily respond to changes in the impulses given by t e operator and the result is that the motion picture machine will run fairly steadily, but since the readily responsive to changes in speed of thegenerator 7, any changes in speed of the niotion icture machine are immediately res on ed to by the sound reproducin ma- 0 inc and the two machines remain a ways in step one with the other, this being due to the preponderance in weight of the motion picture structure. For the taking of motion pictures the sounds may be recorded by replacing the reproducing machine with a suitablev sound recording machine and the pictures will then agree. Since practically true synchronism between the projection apparatus and the sound reproducing apparatus is possible with the present invention, pictures taken and sounds recorded as stated may be faithfully reproduced. 7

What is claimed is:

1. A motion picture apparatus comprising a motion picture projection machine, an electric generator driven thereby, a sound reproducing machine, an electric motor coupled to said sound reproducing machine for driving the same, and an electriccircuit coupling the electric generator to the sound reproducing machine. v e

2. A motionpicture apparatus comprising a motion picture machine, an electric generator' driven thereby, a sound reproducing machine of small inertia compared with the motion picture machine, an electric motor coupled to said sound re roducing machine for drivin the same, an an electriccircuit coupling t e electric generator to the sound reproducing machine.

3. A motion picture apparatus comprising a motion icture machine, an electric generator coup ed mechanically directly thereto, a sound reproducing machine of small inertia com ared with the motion picture machine, an e ectric motor responsive to the current furnished by the electric generator, said motor being cou led to the sound reproducing machine for riving the latter, and an elec tric circuit coupling the electric generator to the sound reproducing machine.

4. In a motion picture apparatus, a motion picture machine, an electric generator coupled to the driving mechanism of the motion picture machine and driven thereby, a sound reproducinglmachine, an electric motor in circuit wit the generator and connected to the sound reproducing machine for driving the latter, andmeans for varying the speed of the sound reproducing machine without varying the speed of the motor.

In testimony thatI claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses. e

I GEORGE HAMMETT.

Witnesses:

CHARLES ALFRED DAvis, JNO. W. DUNCAN. 

